Brace yourself for a flurry of reports warning of a post-Christmas spike in divorce figures. It seems that while it is supposed to be the season of goodwill, in fact the festive season is a time when family tension hits a peak.

It is not really surprising, given the unnaturally long amount of time we spend away from our usual routine, and given the likelihood that households will be straining under the demands of extra bodies to house and feed as relative descend en masse for their annual visit.

So what can you do to ensure that things flow smoothly and that everybody waves goodbye with a smile on their faces, rather than sighing with relief that is all over for another year?

Here are our tips to keep things ticking over calmly…

* Take every opportunity to get the lot out of the house and out from under each others' feet. Plan walks and outings throughout so that everyone has some fresh air, shakes off the cobwebs and has an opportunity to let off steam out in the open, rather than in your living room.

* If you have a house full of telly addicts devise a way of allocating points to everyone and have them 'buy' viewing times. It is good fun and it means that if there's a soap on that only one person wants to watch, they can still watch it without causing friction. If programmes clash you can say that the person whose programme is chosen has to give extra points to other members of the family to be used later.

* Make sure everyone is aware that they must pull their weight. The burden of cooking, cleaning, entertaining and generally keeping things ticking over should not fall on one particular person’s shoulders. Spread the chores around and don’t be afraid to have a chart on display to ensure people know who’s doing what, and when.

* Recognise potential areas of conflict and get a strategy in place beforehand. If, for example, you know that your father-in-law or old uncle will drive you mad with incessant, tuneless whistling while going about their business first thing in the morning before everyone else is up, find something else to take your mind off it. Download a favourite radio show to your mp3 player and pop on your headphones.

* Make sure everyone has plenty of sleep and down time. Tired people make stressful people, so do not ignore the need for rest. Chances are everyone will have stayed up late on Christmas Eve and been up early on Christmas Day, so don’t be afraid to send people off to their rooms for a nap, so you can put your feet up too and replenish your own energy levels.

* With new toys, computer games, TV programmes and multiple conversations going on it can it can all simply get too much. If you sense a build-up of conflicting sounds, diplomatically direct people to alternative rooms for their activities in order to spread everyone about the house.

* It is all very well having a little aperitif before dinner, followed by champagne to toast the arrival of the turkey, and wine with the meal, but prolonged drinking spread throughout the day will take its toll. No need to be stingy, but ensure that nobody drinks to excess. Embarrassing things can happen when inhibitions are completely thrown off.

* If things really get too much this Christmas make a mental note to do things differently next year. Maybe short visits through the year rather than one big get-together at Christmas would work better. And if you really can’t avoid having everyone over for some festive fun, limit it to two nights at the most. Long enough to be enjoyable, but short enough to be bearable.